Machine Learning Based Approach to a Crane Load Estimation

In the presence of increasing demands for safety and efficiency of material handling systems, the development of advanced supervisory control, monitoring, data acquisition and diagnostic systems is involved, especially for large industrial cranes. The important part of such systems is the continuous monitoring of a crane load. The crane load monitoring system proposed in the paper is based on a fuzzy model that estimates a payload mass transferred by a crane based on measuring the crane girder deflection and trolley position. The model was identified using the fuzzy subtractive clustering and least mean square with the data collected during experiments carried out on the laboratory scaled overhead crane.

Using the Telemetry System as an Element of the Engine Operation Monitoring System of UAS

The article presents an engineering approach that allows us to collect engine operation characteristics using built-in telemetry mechanisms, filled with the passive recording system. As a result of the development of the solution, the characteristics of the engine operation were obtained under real conditions, and the universal registration tool was built with a wider application than simply the registration of the engine operating parameters. The development of the solution allowed measurements to be obtained in a passive mode using a distributed architecture for engine monitoring and engine operation characteristics, which would be difficult to obtain and archive without logger production, especially during flight tests.

The Synthesis of Gemini Ionic Salt in the Form of a (Tetra)Fluoborate of 1,4-Bis- ((1-Decyloimidazol-3-Yl)Methyl)Benzene

Ionic liquids as anticorrosion agents have a wide spectrum of unique properties, which make them less harmful than the majority of typical organic corrosion inhibitors in antifreeze. The synthesis of ionic liquids enables them to be provided with the desired physicochemical and thermodynamical properties by the appropriate selection of cations, anions, and alkyl substituents on the cations. The aim of this paper is the synthesis of the gemini ionic salt (ionic liquid) made up of two imidazole rings with a linear alkyl substituent with 10 carbon atoms, bonded by a 1,4-dimethylphenyl moiety. Such compounds are studied in view of steel protection against oxidizing and corrosive effects. The compound was obtained in a satisfactory yield.

IT Support for Test Flights

The paper reviews the significance of conducting test flights and the statistical analysis of air events in their course. It was demonstrated that it is necessary to support the processes of analysing and evaluating the selection of the crew for tasks conducted using a specific aerial vehicle. The authors presented an IT system supporting superiors supervising test flights, simultaneously increasing the effectiveness of managing safety and preventive actions. The system’s design was briefly described and its operation confirmed using selected examples. The results were graphically visualized, in a manner exhibiting high legibility and simplicity of the system’s operation.

Failure of the tail rotor of the Mi-24 helicopter as a result of a long-term impact of spatial resonance coupling

The most important element that has an impact on the safety of flight includes the helicopter power plant and the transmission shaft assembly. Monitoring with the use of the traditional vibroacoustic techniques does not provide satisfactory results. It is especially difficult to detect spatial resonance couplings, which may result in dangerous and rapid breaking of elements. This article focuses on a specific mechanism for formation and deepening of resonance and effects of resonance couplings of two subassemblies. For their monitoring, the FAM-C method was applied. It uses an on-board generator as a sensor. This is a synchronous method, which enables one to detect the onset of spatial resonance.

Analysis of Methods and Control Systems of Unmanned Platforms

The key aspect affecting the safety of routing and the unmanned platform mission execution is the autonomy of control systems. To achieve the mission goal, control algorithms supported by advanced sensors have to estimate the obstacle location. Moreover, it is needed to identify potential obstacles, as well as algorithms for trajectory planning in two or three dimensions space. The use of these algorithms allows to create an intelligent object that performs tasks in difficult conditions in which communication between the platform and the operator is constricted. The article mainly focuses on unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) control systems.

Electric Aircraft Propulsion

This paper presents the state of the art in electric aircraft propulsion systems. The necessary reduction of greenhouse gas emissions on the global scale forces aviation engineers to search for ‘green’ solutions. Electric aircraft propulsion is a potential and relatively intuitive choice for a reduction of emissions in flight operations. This paper showcases four architectures of aircraft propulsion systems being now considered to utilise the advantages of electric propulsion with commercially profitable operating range and payload capabilities. One of the largest technological obstacles to the widespread use of electric propulsion in aviation is the low energy density of modern electric batteries. This paper presents the types of power supply which may achieve an energy density above the minimum threshold of 500 Wh/kg, and alternative onboard electrical power sources. The paper also shows novel designs of electric motors intended for aerospace applications. The final sections of this paper shows the implemented projects of aircraft with electric propulsion and the electric aircraft propulsion research projects underway around the world.

Analysis of Ride Comfort in Selected Types of Rail Vehicles

The subject of the article is the analysis of ride comfort for a passenger of selected types of rail vehicles on the basis of the main factor determining its level - mechanical vibrations. The research was based on measurements of vibration accelerations and the RMS values in one-third octave bands which were calculated from the measured accelerations. The tested objects were four types of rail vehicles. This article presents the results of the analysis carried out for each vehicle, using two methods of assessing the impact of vibrations on the human body.

Diagnostics of the Excessive Wear of the Machine on a Model of Developmental, Progressive Interactions Between Diagnostic Signals and Rotation Speed Signals

In the machine operating process, there are certain interactions between its operational use and wear. The current wear is increased by the current intensity of operational use, and usable potential is reduced by the current wear rate. In the diagnostic inference process, static characteristics and trajectories of state from the experiment are compared with different matrices determined for various assumed configurations of changes. As a result, the approximated diagnosis is created. This method is not universal. It applies only to the continuous progressive state, more or less increased wear rate of the machine.

The Use of Innovative Contact Strip for Pantographs of Electric Rolling Stock. Experience in Operational and Bench Tests

Modern high-tech composite materials are widely used in various sectors of the economy, in particular, in railway transport. Among the areas of application of such innovative materials, the manufacturing of contact strips for pantographs of electric rolling stock should be mentioned. Innovation is primarily understood as the self-lubricating property of the working surface of the linings. The linings made of such materials differ from the traditional graphite (coal) ones by the increased content of metal additives, in particular copper, which limits the possibility of their use on electric rolling stock in the countries of the European Union. Regulatory restrictions on the content of copper (35% and 40%) are associated with possible damage to the contact wire, in the case of using overlays with a content of copper (metals) greater than these restrictions. On the railways of Ukraine (countries of the former USSR), there are also restrictions on the use of linings of different types according to the degree of wear of the contact wire, no more than 40 microns is allowed per 10 thousand passes of the locomotive pantograph along the contact wire. These standards are verified during operational and bench tests. The aim of the article is to present the types of tests and compare the obtained values with similar indicators in the case of using a traditional contact strip for pantographs of electric rolling stock. The results obtained confirm the possibility of using innovative linings on iron networks, since the wear of the contact wire during testing is much lower than that of the normative and knife than for traditional types of linings. In addition, during a set of tests, the fact of improving the quality of the working surface of the contact wire was established, which positively affects the extension of the service life of the contact wire.